The thing about taking chances is that there is a "chance" that things may not turn out the way you think they will. In fact, anyone who has lived any life at all will tell you that things rarely, if ever, turn out to be what you anticipated. But many would also tell you, it's far better that way.
It basically comes down to this: it's not about having everything you want. It's about being able to look back and not feel like you have wasted your time. If you aren't where you want to be in life, you are the only one who can change that.
There are so many things we put off because we don't have the time, we don't have the money, we don't have the opportunity, it's too difficult, or "there is one last thing that needs to fall into place THEN I'll be able to_________." Sadly, that one last thing that needs to fall into place never will. We will always have just as much time as we do now. And money, well, it tends to disappear as quickly as it appears.
Contentment is not apathy. If there is something you have a passion for, God cares about that. When you open yourself up and become a little more flexible who knows what kind of opportunities He will bring along? Don't hold back because it doesn't "look" the way you thought it would. Our perceptions will become bondage if we aren't willing to let them go.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sweet Sleep
I am awake. My first attempt at sleep was three hours ago. My second was about one hour ago. It's strange, I have always feared the inability to sleep. Even when I was a little girl, life was only good if my sleep was sweet.
Well, here I am, and oddly enough, it's a good thing I am not asleep. God is ministering to me so much just through worship music, the words of my friends, and His still, small voice. He is reawakening passion for His Kingdom within me. This world sucks the life out of you, literally. It takes all your passion, your joy, your zeal and replaces it with apathy, cynicism and contempt. In order to keep our passion we need to protect it and cultivate it relentlessly.
Unfortunately, I have not done so and God is having to rebuild a lot of me from scratch. He knows what I need. My faith is fragile and He is bulking it up. I'm just pressing into Him and letting Him do all the work. I'm tired of trying to accomplish things my way. All I have is only what He has given me. All I will be is only what He will make me.
So, I'm just going to sit back and watch Him work. His faithful, loving, gentle hands will get the job done.
Come finish the work you began in me, Jesus.
Well, here I am, and oddly enough, it's a good thing I am not asleep. God is ministering to me so much just through worship music, the words of my friends, and His still, small voice. He is reawakening passion for His Kingdom within me. This world sucks the life out of you, literally. It takes all your passion, your joy, your zeal and replaces it with apathy, cynicism and contempt. In order to keep our passion we need to protect it and cultivate it relentlessly.
Unfortunately, I have not done so and God is having to rebuild a lot of me from scratch. He knows what I need. My faith is fragile and He is bulking it up. I'm just pressing into Him and letting Him do all the work. I'm tired of trying to accomplish things my way. All I have is only what He has given me. All I will be is only what He will make me.
So, I'm just going to sit back and watch Him work. His faithful, loving, gentle hands will get the job done.
Come finish the work you began in me, Jesus.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Justice
Taylor and I recently went to some friends' wedding down in Houston. Our friends, Derek and Tessa, started a ministry last year with some other passionate servants of God. The ministry is called Rescue the Girl and it started as an effort to raise enough money to save just one girl from the horrors of sex slavery. From that point it grew--you can see just how far they've come at www.rescuethegirl.com.
The weekend in Houston gave us the opportunity to have some good conversations with these amazing people about their vision for the ministry and the event that we are planning to have here in Wichita this summer. (If you are here in Wichita or nearby, keep you eyes and ears open. The event we are planning will be consistent with other RtG events in that we will use the creative arts to bring awareness to the problem of sex slavery as well as to raise money to further this cause that is so close to God's heart.)
Talking about this particular type of slavery got me to thinking about ALL types and what my responsibility is to prevent them. While I wish I was in Africa and India and even here in Wichita on the front lines kicking down the doors, God has yet to give me that opportunity. But I have begun to consider the steps that I can take to end slavery here at home.
With a little research I realized that a lot of what we buy is made by the hands of children who are being exploited for monetary gain...and not just children. Adults fall prey to this exploitation as well.
I think that part of the reason that this is still such a problem in our society is because the people in the world who have the money (that's you and me) feel entitled to buy whatever we want and don't feel the need to know where it came from. We are consumers. If we want something, we go get it without thinking twice.
The reality is that you and I have a responsibility as Jesus' hands and feet here on this earth to bring justice to those whose lives have been stolen by greedy hands. Psalm 37:28 says that the Lord LOVES justice and Psalm 82:3 states that we are to "give justice to the weak and the fatherless" and to "maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." It doesn't get a whole lot clearer than that.
With this on my mind, I have done a little research. Here is a website with a PDF list of countries and the products they sell that involve child labor and forced labor: http://distributism.blogspot.com/2009/09/slave-made-goods-by-country-list-from.html. It gets a little confusing once you realize that the cute pair of shoes you want at Target are made in the USA with products from China and Pakistan. Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to know for sure that the things we are buying have never passed through the hands of a slave laborer, but it's good for us to keep the possibility in mind as we shop so that we are able to avoid the obvious slave-made products.
Also here is a link to Free the Slaves: http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=348. They have a lot of good information on modern day slavery and how to practically become involved in putting an end to it.
This has been something that has been weighing heavy on my heart. We ALL have the ability in some way or another to bring justice to those who have no voice to plead for their own cause (Proverbs 31:8).
Let's be proactive in shaping the world. God has made us more than conquerors in this evil place--why not change some things?
I love you all.
Kaela
P.S. Photo courtesy of Tessa Harvey!
The weekend in Houston gave us the opportunity to have some good conversations with these amazing people about their vision for the ministry and the event that we are planning to have here in Wichita this summer. (If you are here in Wichita or nearby, keep you eyes and ears open. The event we are planning will be consistent with other RtG events in that we will use the creative arts to bring awareness to the problem of sex slavery as well as to raise money to further this cause that is so close to God's heart.)
Talking about this particular type of slavery got me to thinking about ALL types and what my responsibility is to prevent them. While I wish I was in Africa and India and even here in Wichita on the front lines kicking down the doors, God has yet to give me that opportunity. But I have begun to consider the steps that I can take to end slavery here at home.
With a little research I realized that a lot of what we buy is made by the hands of children who are being exploited for monetary gain...and not just children. Adults fall prey to this exploitation as well.
I think that part of the reason that this is still such a problem in our society is because the people in the world who have the money (that's you and me) feel entitled to buy whatever we want and don't feel the need to know where it came from. We are consumers. If we want something, we go get it without thinking twice.
The reality is that you and I have a responsibility as Jesus' hands and feet here on this earth to bring justice to those whose lives have been stolen by greedy hands. Psalm 37:28 says that the Lord LOVES justice and Psalm 82:3 states that we are to "give justice to the weak and the fatherless" and to "maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." It doesn't get a whole lot clearer than that.
With this on my mind, I have done a little research. Here is a website with a PDF list of countries and the products they sell that involve child labor and forced labor: http://distributism.blogspot.com/2009/09/slave-made-goods-by-country-list-from.html. It gets a little confusing once you realize that the cute pair of shoes you want at Target are made in the USA with products from China and Pakistan. Unfortunately, it's impossible for us to know for sure that the things we are buying have never passed through the hands of a slave laborer, but it's good for us to keep the possibility in mind as we shop so that we are able to avoid the obvious slave-made products.
Also here is a link to Free the Slaves: http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=348. They have a lot of good information on modern day slavery and how to practically become involved in putting an end to it.
This has been something that has been weighing heavy on my heart. We ALL have the ability in some way or another to bring justice to those who have no voice to plead for their own cause (Proverbs 31:8).
Let's be proactive in shaping the world. God has made us more than conquerors in this evil place--why not change some things?
I love you all.
Kaela
P.S. Photo courtesy of Tessa Harvey!
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